hoops at school

We had a March Madness competition at school and it was a total blast! 

Each teacher got to pick one students that had been an awesome reader that month to participate. 

They got 5 shots and could either do them all themselves or invite 4 other friends to shoot with them. 

The shots started with a layup and then went back to the "3 point" line.

They had one minute to make all the shots and could win up to $8!!

Ridge had originally asked me to do the layup, but then when he saw how far back the last shot was he asked me to do that one. Pressure was on!! I didn't want to mess it up for him. But the other 4 kids made their shots and then I swished mine on the first try! It was awesome! 

Yay for reading and yay for basketball!

we never walk alone

February and March were not my favorite months in the world. To say it was crazy would be an understatement. Ya know those time where you're just swimming and barely staying afloat? That was me. I would wake up in the morning not knowing how everything was going to get done and also struggling with the motivation to do so. But there's one good thing about having a real adult job: you can't really skip. So every morning I would wake up (stay in bed as long as possible) and then just do life, because there wasn't really any other choice. It was probably a blessing that I have those 20 little cutie head 8 year olds to focus on for 8 hours every day because things probably could've been worse.

Here's a little taste of what I was dealing with. Oh, and of course one storm can't come at a time. They allll had to pile up on top of each other at the same time. THE WORST.

• Sometimes we have to go through SPIRITUAL TRIALS. Those times when God cuts you down so he can build you back up and make you better than you were before. I learned an infinite amount about the atonement and really went back to the basics. So much praying and scripture reading. 

• BOY DRAMA. Break ups aren't really that fun. They are emotionally taxing and socially awkward and just quite miserable. It's literally like a death that has to be mourned and then dealt with because life just has to go on. You have to start new. Find new friends. Fill your time. Not feel sorry for yourself. And try not to think too much. This one kind of takes the cake though. It was a rough one. 
• SCHOOL. Now is the time that all the principals are hiring for next year. I was trying to update my resume, apply for jobs, get letters of recommendation, go to interviews, and find time to stop by and visit principals. I was also getting observed and working on my teacher work sample. It is a big culminating project that basically shows BYU that you've learned something and you know how to teach. It ended up being a 50 page paper after I had taught the unit to my students. And I had to do all this while being a normal teacher every day with the already never-ending to-do list. 
• SICK. Being sick is never fun but I legit had a fever for 4 or 5 days and it was miserable. I couldn't even get out of bed. I also struggle with some stomach issues and other things so I eventually went to the doctor and tried to figure it all out. I didn't get a ton of answers but I did realize that because of all my stress I was kind of dealing with a lot of anxiety. It's the worst thing on the planet. It gives you headaches, makes things feel like the end of the world, makes your stomach go in knots, and makes it impossible to accomplish anything. The only way to combat it is to manage the stress which is the last thing you want to do when you already have too much to do.

Now, I don't say all this to go on a "woe is me" rant, but just to illustrate that it was just a lot to deal with at one time! But here's the blessing. I really tried to put God first. I was working on my faith and my patience and just doing everything that I knew how to do to the best that I could with everything that was going on. 

Just last week I was on my way to work and I thought to myself, "Everything is going so well, how did it all get done?" And then this quote popped into my head:

"I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you."  President Thomas S. Monson

I realized then that I had been carried. There is a Savior!! I am so grateful that the atonement makes us better and not only saves us from our sins, but to strengthen our weaknesses and shortcomings. There is literally no possible way that everything was taken care of on its own or with my own limited power. There was a lot of help from a loving Heavenly Father. And somehow you make it through. You survive. And you come out stronger and more aware of how merciful He is. 

I made some huge strides spiritually. I spent a lot of time at the temple and that helped give me perspective. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the Book of Mormon every day. I started hanging out with new friends and spent time with old friends. I also go to take time for myself and do the things that were important to me! I have been reading and playing the piano and writing and organizing my bedroom and classroom. I've spent a lot of time out in nature enjoying that spring sunshine! I turned in my teacher work sample on time and passed it! I passed the Praxis test! I got a job for next year! And I can officially graduate. I also have been trying to eat a lot better and keep my body healthy! Sure, nothing is perfect and there's still more things to figure out, but there are a billion blessings that Heavenly Father blessed me with.

I don't have all the answers, but I know if I keep trusting Him, He will provide for me and always give me what I need the most. And always, despite the hard things, there is always so much to be grateful for. 

this is us

I started watching this new show. It's so good! It's just real life which I think the world needs to see more of. It is a drama but I think people can connect with it because they are just normal people. What really struck me this week was their family relationships.

That's all that really matters in life! It is so important to ALWAYS be there for each other because your family is the only people you get to keep for eternity.

The family in this show has their own set of trials and disappointments but they deal with them together. They support each other, they visit each other, they call, they travel for important events, they encourage, and they love. It really is touching and makes me so happy that "normal" families still can be achieved in this world where values have decreased and the importance of the family has drastically decreased. There still are good people in this world!!

stand in holy places

I went to a Pearl of Great Price class this past week and somehow it came up that we must always stand in holy places. 

One of the first holy places that comes to mind is the temple. But we can't always be at the temple right. So what are some other holy places? OUR HOMES. 

We can make our homes holy places by having the spirit there. I think this can be done in a lot of ways.

keep it clean
have pictures of the temple or Christ
listen to quiet music
have uplifting conversations

take time to ponder 

I've spent a lot of time at the temple recently and love the feeling I have there. It has become a safe haven for me to take a step away from the storms of life. It is a great place to think and it is beautiful to look at. It truly is one of my favorite places.

I started thinking about how I wanted my home to feel like the way I feel when I'm both in the temple and on the grounds. It seems a little impossible to achieve at times because of not having your own space with roommates. But I can't just wait until I have my own home to work towards that. All the ways I listed above ARE possible in my apartment now. 

International Women's Day

I've noticed in the past couple years that this holiday has become a huge deal on the social media front. As much as people have taken an empowering approach to such a day, I couldn't help but feel a desire to express the simple things that women do each and every day.

I think it's important for women to have a voice and to say how they feel. I also think it's important for women to be refined. Sometimes I think that women today don't see how they can do BOTH of those things.

I think that women of influence can do things in quiet ways.

living simply
having confidence
serving others
being creative
standing up for truth
loving wholeheartedly
working hard
showing gratitude

Yes, these can be shown through social media as well, but oftentimes it's just a part of who someone is. I just think there's a fine line between boasting in a worldy way and fighting for worldly rights and expressing the blessing of being a women and the role that we play in this world as we build God's kingdom and follow Him.

I hope that my influence in the world is one that glorifies the Father and shows my gratitude to Him and my earthly parents who raised me to know who I am and how I can be a light for good in this ever darkening world.

penguin parade

I don't post a ton on here about my classroom, but we do fun things! I promise! Back in January, we did a unit on penguins. It was so fun! The kids split up into groups and researched different kinds of penguins and then shared what they learned with the class. They then made life-size versions of the penguins. I thought they were the cutest!

SAN FRANCISCO PART TWO

I'm having a hard time narrowing down all the pictures I want to post so I'm just doing overload. We started the morning by walking to brunch. We did sleep in a little bit haha! About 10-15 min there, Greta went to take a picture and realized the battery wasn't in it so back to the apartment we went. Then re-traced and finally made it to the most glorious breakfast!

SATURDAY

KITCHEN STORY

Ha, we had actually walked by it on our little adventure yesterday when we got lost. I don't know how we missed it!

Marscapone Deep-Fried French Toast

Millionaire's Bacon Eggs Benedict

It was the perfect combination of savory and sweet. And then the check came paper clipped to this book. How cute is that??

PAINTED LADIES

We then reached our destination to the Painted Ladies without going the wrong way this time.

We were here for quite a while and had taken some people's pictures. So then a lady asked how much I charged haha and of course we asked her to return the favor. When I took her ipad there was a nametag from the Oakland Temple Visitor's Center. I asked her when she went there and she said just yesterday and that it was gorgeous and definitely worth the trip over there haha! She took all the poses of us at all different angles!

WALKING TOUR

I had found a 6 mile walking tour of San Francisco that we decided to do today. It hit really all of the big tourist points. We improvised a little bit but it was so nice to have it as a guide!

FERRY BUILDING

PIER 39 + FISHERMAN'S WHARF

We walked all along the water until we reached Pier 39. It reminded us a little bit of being in Seattle. We love the West Coast!!

After all that rain yesterday, we totally lucked out with the SUN!!! We were absolutely loving it. It was a bit windy but we felt like we couldn't really complain about that. It made for a perfect day.

This store was the perfect thing for Greta and I to run into! Except we realized that after 24 years we have adapted quite proficiently to living in a "right-handed" world.

Alcatraz Island!!

This bread was SOOO fresh and good!!! We loved every bite of the round we bought.

MUSEE MECHANIQUE

This arcade is filled with games from all eras. It was so fun to just walk around. And they are all coin-operated so they were super cheap!

This reminded us of Princess Diaries and since we were in San Francisco we had to try it ha!

uh oh!!

GHIRADELLI SQUARE

Yes, it tasted as good as it looks!

So instead of waiting in the long line for the street car we decided to walk up the hill. STRAIGHT UP. But when we got to the top, we realized something. We weren't even out of breath!! Even after living in Utah for 6 years, we had not adjusted to the altitude. The air is so much better at sea level! We loved it!

LOMBARD STREET
Not really sure why this is even a thing, but this 8 hairpin turn street is fabulous. There were literally cars lined up to drive down it. We just walked down it and it was so fun!

I love how all the street names were carved into the concrete!

COIT TOWER

This is about the closest we ever got to getting a good picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. Is it horrible that we went to San Francisco and didn't get closer??

NORTH BEACH

I LOVE fun bookstores!! This one is famous for the Beat era.

A whole bookcase of Jane Austen! Swoon!

CHINATOWN

I love how all the different parts of the city are so unique! It's interesting how we always cling to people that are like us.

This fortune cookie factory was so cool!! This little old lady just sat there and made all the cookies with a smile on her face. It was the cutest.

 Dragon's Gate. The entrance to Chinatown.

UNION SQUARE

 Union Square is full of classy stores with clothing that I'm dying to have but don't have money for haha! But it's always fun to look right??

KING OF THAI NOODLEHOUSE

Pad Thai

Yellow Curry

We put in another 10 mile day. Whether it was the hills or our shoes or what, we were not only sore (which we could handle) but we also had a lot of pain in our feet. By 7 we were pretty much done. We decided to go see Lion with Barret and Maggie. It was SO good! Super similar to the story from the book the Orphan Keeper. We saw this on our way to the movie theater...So random, but so funny!

SUNDAY

It was so fun to go to church in the middle of the city. It was another rainy morning but you can always find peace by finding a church building.

We then went with Barret and Maggie to breakfast. It was a fun little place! As with all the places we went to in this city haha!

We took our first public transportation, the BART, (underground subway) to the museum. I was expecting a quiet peaceful Sunday at the museum, taking our time walking through the gallerys, but I guess everyone else had the exact.same.idea. There were people everywhere!! But it was still a great time. I'm definitely a fan of museums.

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

 This artist of this pile of dirt (ha!) is the same one that did the spiral jetty that's up in Salt Lake.

We thought the chalkboard scribbles were appropriate for a teacher.

This artist was amazing!! They had so many that were flawless. Or like this one where they are made of smaller pieces that make a bigger piece.

GOLDEN GATE PARK

We took the bus to this park where we spent the rest of the evening.

We underestimated how much sunlight we had left but I seriously could've spent all day here. It was so peaceful and green! It was so weird to us how when you look at a map you don't really get to see the landscape so when you get to a destination, it's always a surprise!

Basically everything was closed by the time we got there so I'm dying to go back soon!

ICE CREAM BAR

This was the cutest ice cream shop!! It was so fun to sit in there for a minute and it also was THE BEST ice cream.
Greta got a devil's food cake one and I got a passionfruit raspberry one I think. Both were delish!

We woke up bright and early the next morning and made our way back to the Oakland Airport. It was pouring once again. But it was a fantastic trip!! It's always fun to get away for a little bit and take a step back from normal life. We walked our little feet right off and had a blast! And clearly saw so many things. Glad I can now cross SF off my bucket list!